This is another double page spread taken from an issue of NME. I like how the article runs along the bottom of the two pages. The use of one big image on the right and some smaller pictures on the left is good because it shows what the band is like live which is fitting for the article because it is a review of a show they played in Edinburgh. The font is very simple to read which will help to capture the reader’s interest. Although I like the layout because it is very simple I think I would like to include more writing in my double page spread.

This double page spread is from an issue of Rocksound Magazine. It caught my eye because the image takes over most of two pages and the article is written on top of the picture. This is different to other double page spreads that I have seen and I think it looks really effective. I like how the article is set out in two small columns which make it tempting to read because it isn’t long. I also like how the colour of the text matches in with the paint on the ground in the picture. The use of the American flag running around the outside of the skate park in the background works well as a visual aid because the band that the article is about is from Boston. I like the font that the article is written in too. It is simple and easy to read. I would like to use a similar font in my double page spread.

This double page spread is about an interview that NME had with Arctic Monkeys. It follows a typical question and answer format which is simple to read and easy to follow. The main image is of the band sitting around a table which is fitting for the type of article it is. I don’t really find question and answer interviews very interesting so I don’t think that this is a very inspirational piece for my double page spread. Instead of doing a question and answer format I think I would have written it up. I would have tried to make it informal and friendly so that reader could have felt like they were actually present when the interview took place.

Again, this double page spread is from an issue of NME. I like how the heading is coloured in black and red as this links in with the colours of the masthead on the front cover and also matches the colour of the guitar that model is holding. I like how this colour scheme is apparent throughout the article and how the image is her on the right is very strong. She has her hands on her hips and is looking boldly into the camera. This matches the very first sentence – “Shit, fuck it up!”. Together they give off a strong vibe of a musician who is very independent. However the use of taboo language as an opening for the article could be considered a negative thing as it could be insulting to a lot of people. I don’t think I will copy this idea for my double page spread.  I think the bits I would like incorporate into my double page spread would be the use of a strong image and a second smaller image to compliment the first one. I would also like to think of an interesting heading like this to draw the audience in.

Inspirational double-page spreads

This double page spread is from an issue of NME and looks effective because of the colour scheme. I like how the A4 image of Bjork and the heading has the same colours. They bounce off each other and makes the page look inviting to read. I also like how the article begins with an enlarged capital letter as this catches the reader’s eye and makes them want to read on.  I like how the article begins with two short columns and then continues onto the next page. This technique appears to effective because the first double page spread draws the reader in so they will be interested and will read onto the next page where there is a lot more writing. Some articles look daunting with the amount of writing they contain but this one doesn’t because it is spread out over two double page spreads. I also like the use of enlarged quotations using the same colour scheme as the image on the first spread as it makes it continuous and helps the article to flow across the pages. Another thing I like is how the article itself is written. It is informal and friendly and makes the reader feel like they are actually talking to Bjork themselves.

First Draft For My Magazine

This is the first draft for my magazine. I don't like it at all. Unfortunately the models I was hoping to use dropped out at the last second so I had to make-do with a quick picture in order to meet my deadline. I plan to completely change my front cover. I will take a new image, change the fonts to make my masthead stand out and alter the colour scheme to make it more colourful as this will hopefully attract the reader's attention.

Feedback from the class

This is the feedback that I got from my class about my first draft of my front cover. It seems that I need to change the image as most people said that the background was too busy and that I needed to include more fonts to make the masthead stand out.
I think that in order to improve I should change the image comepletely as I don't like the background at all and would prefer to have a model who is looking directly at the camera. I think that this will make my magazine look more inviting to the reader and more like a professional one. I will also change my masthead to make it stand out more.

Audience Survey

I am:
(Please circle the correct answer)

Male               Female

I buy magazines about:
(Please circle the correct answer/s)

Fashion           Music              Sports             Cars                Fitness

Other (please specify) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I usually spend _ _ _ on a magazine:
(Please circle the correct answer

£0.99               £1 - £1.99                    £2 - £2.99                    £3 – £3.99      

           
£4 or over

I buy a magazine:

(Please circle the correct answer)

Once a month         Fortnightly                  Weekly          

Other (please specify) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I am drawn to a magazine by:

(Please circle the correct answer/s)

The model on the cover    The masthead          The colours   

The sell lines               The price                  

Other (please specify) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _

State which genre(s) of music you like the most

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

State which genre(s) of music you like the least

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Which magazine(s) do you usually buy?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

This was my audience survey that I asked 20 students aged sixteen to eighteen doing a variety of subjects to answer. I found that while they had different interests in genres of music the majority were drawn to magazines through the masthead, the model on the cover and the price. I discovered that most of them spent £2 - £2.99 on a magazine once a month. This has helped me choose how much I will charge for my music magazine, and also how regularly to produce it. As the majority of people were drawn to a magazine by the masthead and the model on the cover (as well as the price) I have decided to make my masthead very big and bold so that it will stand out. I will try to make the model on the cover pose in a way that will catch people's attention. For example, instead of using the usual invitational or chocolate box pose that a lot of magazines use I could have someone posing with a 'prop' such as a guitar and make it full length as opposed to a head shot. I hope that the 'prop' will act as a visual aid to help the audience understand that my magazine will be a music magazine and hope that the full length pose will draw people in as if will look different to most magazines on the shelf.

Flat Plan

This is my flat plan for my music magazine. I didn't include an image because when I designed it I was still unsure of which one to use. However I have now narrowed it down to two, either a close up of a face or a full length shot of someone playing guitar.

Mood Board

This is my mood board. 

More Original Pictures

Preliminary Task

For my preliminary task I created a front cover and contents page for a college magazine. I used Microsoft Publisher to do this because I found that it was the quickest and easiest program to use. However for my music magazine I plan to use Abode Photoshop as I want to spend more time creating it and want to edit it in more detail.

I decided to call my magazine “PRIDE” because the college’s core values are partnership, respect, innovation, diversity and ethnicity. As these values are important to college I decided that the acronym “PRIDE” was a fitting masthead name. I chose to use the colours purple and white for my colour palette because they are the colours used at the Bede campus in the City of Sunderland, which would be where my magazine would be available to read. I want my magazine to look realistic and fit in with the colour scheme already in place. As purple and white are already familiar colours to the students in Sunderland they seemed the perfect choice as they could encourage them to read it.

I chose to use the colours purple and white for my colour palette because they are the colours used at the Bede campus in the City of Sunderland, which is where my magazine would be available to read. I want my magazine to look realistic and fit in with the colour scheme already in place. As purple and white are already familiar colours to the students in Sunderland they seemed the perfect choice as they could encourage them to read it. I hope that the colour scheme will create positive connotations due the similarity with the college’s colour scheme that is already well known. I have discovered that the white text on the purple background really stands out and catches the audience’s attention.

This was my flat plan for the front cover.

This was my flat plan for the contents page.

This was my final front cover.

This was my final contents page.

Inspirational Texts

The first magazine cover that I chose was from an independent style magazine called “INDIE”. I like to listen to Indie/Alternative music so the name drew my interest straight away. The cover is very simple. There is a picture of Daisy Lowe in an invitational pose. Her head is tilted slightly to the right and her mouth is slightly parted. There is no hint of a smile and her eyes are emphasised with black eyeliner. The main sell line reads “in love with Daisy” and the rest of the cover is very plain. I like this front cover because it simple yet effective. It has captured my interest through the title of the magazine. The colour palette seems to only consist of white writing. It sounds boring but looks effective and captures the audience’s interest just as well as busy and very colourful front covers. I think I would like to keep the appearance of my own magazine simple like this magazine has as I find that this magazine is a perfect example of the saying “less is more”.

The second magazine that I found inspirational is a cover from New Musical Express or “NME” as the masthead reads. Alex Turner and Miles Kane from the band The Last of The Shadow Puppets are on the front as in this issue they gave their first official interview to the magazine. I find this magazine cover inspirational because it is a more complicated front cover than the first magazine I looked at. It shows a number of sell lines and also has one in a black circle to make it stand out. The colour palette consists of red and black with a white background and white and yellow writing used sparingly. I think I prefer the appearance of the first one the most but I find this cover more attention-grabbing due to the use of extra colours. I think I would like to use the shape idea to make certain sell lines stand out because they make the magazine more eye-catching. This is essential because the media industry has grown immensely over the years and there are now hundreds of different magazines in competition with each other to gain consumers.

The third magazine that captured my interest was an issue of the New York style magazine “New York Look”. It is a high fashion magazine that lists things “fresh off the runways”. The photograph on the front shows two girls with flawless beauty. They have red lips and their eyes are lined fairly heavily with black eyeliner. They aren’t facing the camera lens which provides a mysterious element to the picture. The colour palette consists only of black writing. It could be argued that other colours include white and red because the photograph is very close up and the faces take up the whole page. Like the first one this magazine is very simple and captures the audience’s attention not with the use of clever captions and sell lines but with visual aid. I think the reason I was drawn to this front cover is because I have always wanted to visit New York and because I aspire to have skin as clear as them. I am naturally pale and feel pressure to look tanned in our society but pictures such as this give me the confidence to embrace my pale tone. I think I would like to use a similar font for my mast head because it simple and easy to read.

Fourthly I chose another busy front cover. I looked an issue of “Nylon” with the actresses Annalynne McCord, Jessica Stroup and Shenae Grimes from the popular television series 90210 on the front. They are wearing quirky outfits that capture the reader’s interest. The main sell line states that “90210 is back” and there is another sell line explaining that this issue of Nylon is the “TV issue”. Another sell line is “Fall Fashion: The Season’s Greatest Hits” which explains why the actresses are wearing such stylish outfits. The colour palette consists of pink and purple with yellow and black used sparingly. The main sell line is written in a different font to the rest to emphasise it. This magazine captured my interest because I am a fan of 90210 and I was drawn in by the main sell line. I find it inspirational because the main sell line stands out very well. I think the colour palette really looks effective and I would like to try and incorporate the use of a bright colour for the main sell line of my magazine.

“Dazed and Confused” was the last magazine I analysed. The issue that I was drawn to was the one with Dakota Fanning on the front. The image of her is in greyscale and shows her natural beauty. She is wearing little make-up and isn’t looking directly into the camera lens. The main sell line is her name, “Dakota Fanning” and the sub head says “from golden girl to glam rock rebel”. This draws the reader’s interest because Dakota Fanning is an icon who has grown up on television screens all over the world and people will be interested in what she is up to next. The colour palette consists only of white and it looks very effective against the greyscale photograph in the background. I think that this magazine captured my attention because it looks different to most of the magazines I have seen before. The majority of magazines include a little bit of colour somewhere on the front but this one doesn’t. I also like how the sub head describes Dakota Fanning as a “glam rock rebel” yet the photograph of her looks very natural. The connotations held with the words “rock rebel” are of people looking quite fierce with heavy eyeliner and messy hair. This will draw the audience in because they will be wondering how this photograph can portray a “rock rebel”. I think I would like to try and create a photograph such as this one for my magazine which could confuse my target audience into buying it to find out more.



In conclusion, I think my favourite magazines were the first and fifth ones I looked at. I think this because I like simple things that look effective. I find that they both stand out more than other magazines that are busier. In both magazines the main colour used in the palette is white. The poses are quite similar too. I think I will be using an invitational pose on my front cover because it is a soft sell with eyes that create a sense of mystery, which could potentially draw in the audience and make them wonder what will be included in it.

Magazine Analysis Homework 3

The third magazine I analysed was an issue of Rocksound. I think that like the first magazine the reader wouldn’t really care what they eat for breakfast because I get the impression that they are students and students don’t really care. I think that they would use buses as a form of transport rather than cars because they probably can’t afford a car. I think they would live in student accommodation and would drink alcohol a lot. They probably would watch music channels like MTV Rocks or Kerrang the most because those channels play the music that is featured in the magazine. The music that they would listen to would be Rock and would be bands like You Me At  Six, Blink 182, New Found Glory, We Are The In Crowd and Madina Lake. They probably don’t have a favourite meal but would probably choose festival ‘easy’ food like beans on toast which would indicate the lifestyle they have. I don’t think that theses readers would be into sports either. I think that are more likely to be into playing musical instruments. With the NME magazine I think that the reader could be either in a relationship or single but I doubt that they would be married. I think that they would choose to go on holiday to festivals to places such as Download and would be most likely to vote for whichever political party has the most benefitting policies for students at the time. In Sunderland I think that the bars that the reader would go to would be Passion Rocks and Rush on a Thursday night as they are called the “Rock night”.

Magazine Analysis Homework 2

The second magazine I looked at was an issue of Now and I think that the reader would eat a healthy cereal such as Special K because different diet ideas are included in the magazine. I think that they are women of different ages because of this as men don’t tend to care about their weight as much as women. I think that the reader would probably drive a car and live in houses rather than student accommodation because I get the impression that they are older. I think that the reader would drink a variety of things and would probably favour water because of the diets featured in the magazine. The TV shows that they would read would be ones like X Factor, The Only Way Is Essex and Big Brother because these are sell lines featured on the front cover. The music they would listen to would be from the Pop genre and would include  JLS, Cheryl Cole, Take That and N Dubz because these are some of the bands of celebrities from bands featured on the cover. The reader could possiblt do swimming becayse there is a picture of a celebrity on the beach on the front. They could be either single or in a relationship or married. I don’t think any relationship status is apparent. They probably go on holiday to places abroad such as Spain and Turkey with nice beaches and hot sun. They probably vote for whichever political party appears the most appealing to them and would go to more mainstream bars in Sunderland like Rush, Glass Spider and Liquid.

Magazine Analysis Homework

The first magazine that I looked was an issue of NME. I have decided that the readers of this magazine could be either male of female and will probably eat any cereal because I think that the majority of the readers would be students and students don’t tend to care what they eat. I think that they would use public transport such as buses because students can’t afford cars, insurance, petrol etc. I think that they would live in student accommodation and drink alcohol because the images used are from concerts and the types of bands tend to be quite wild. From experience of these types of concerts I have had all sorts of alcohol thrown over my head which is why I came to this conclusion. I think that they would watch NME TV as they are readers of the magazine which accompanies it. From the front cover the reader will listen to bands like Nirvana, Biffy Clyro, Marina and the Diamonds, The Drums and Arcade Fire to name a few. I think that they would eat a mixture of foods and their favourite food could be anything as the readers will like to express themselves in different ways. They must like to express themselves through music so will most likely do the same with their food. I don’t think that the readers would be very athletic. I think they would be most likely to play guitar or something musical rather than sport. They could be either in a relationship or single but I highly doubt that they would be married. I think that the readers will go on holiday to festivals like Glastonbury and Leeds rather than places abroad and will vote for whichever political party has the most policies supporting students at the time. In Sunderland I think that the readers of NME would most likely go to Independent as that is the most alternative place in Sunderland that plays the sort of music featured in this magazine.